AUSTIN WILLIAMS SPRINTS TO PERRIS “GLENN HOWARD CLASSIC” TRIUMPH
Powering past Richard Vander Weerd on the sixth circuit, Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, California) sailed to last Saturday’s feature win at Perris Auto Speedway. For Williams, the “9th Annual Glenn Howard Classic” victory was his second Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car triumph of the season and the fifth of his career. Vander Weerd, R.J. Johnson, Brody Roa, and fast qualifier “The Demon” Damion Gardner rounded out the top-five drivers.
Starting on the inside of the second row, Austin Williams piloted Jack Jory’s #2 John Jory Corporation / AMA Plastics Spike to victory in celebration of his car owner’s birthday. Earlier in the program, the 2009 Rookie of the Year qualified fifth out of twenty-nine racers and scored fourth in his heat race. Heading to Canyon’s “Hall of Fame Classic,” Austin is fifth in the point chase with one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, one heat race victory, one Brown & Miller Racing Solutions Semi-Main win, two BR Motorsports / King Racing Products Hard Charger Awards, eleven top-10 finishes, and 55 feature laps led to his credit.
After leading the opening laps, Richard Vander Weerd (Visalia, California) had to settle for second at Perris Auto Speedway. Racing the family owned #10 Vander Weerd Construction / Stone Gate Development Maxim, Richard was eighth fast in time trials and ran second to R.J. Johnson in his heat race. The 2011 USAC West Coast Champion is second in the point standings with one feature win, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, three heat race victories, twelve top-10 finishes, and 61 feature laps led in the campaign.
R.J. Johnson (Tempe, Arizona) returned to USAC/CRA action and finished third in the “Glenn Howard Classic.” Driving Bobby Martin’s #51 Weiler Farms / Pecon Builders entry, Johnson qualified fourth overall and won the night’s Stand 21 Racer Goes Safer Foundation Heat Race #4. In limited action, the three-time USAC SouthWest Champion is twenty-fifth in points with one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, two heat race victories, and three top-10 finishes on the year.
Brody Roa (Garden Grove, California) scored fourth in the Perris 30-lap main event. Piloting the #91R BR Performance HD Industries / Lee & Norma Leonard Maxim, Roa was seventh quick in time trials and ran second to Ronnie Gardner in his heat race. The newly crowned USAC West Coast Champion sits fourth in the standings with one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, four heat race victories, ten top-10 finishes, and 36 feature laps led on the season.
“The Demon” Damion Gardner (Concord, California) ran fifth in the “9th Annual Glenn Howard Classic.” Racing Mark Alexander’s #4 Scott Sales Company / Weld Racing Spike, Gardner earned his second Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award and won the 10-lap Extreme Mufflers Heat Race #1. The four-time champion has a 104-point lead with three feature wins, ten heat race victories, one Brown & Miller Racing Solutions Semi-Main win, thirteen top-10 finishes, and 86 feature laps led in 2016.
Making his first 410 start, Trey Marcham (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) earned the night’s BR Motorsports / King Racing Products “Hard Charger Award / Best Passing Job” honors with a ninth place run from fifteenth. Driving Steve Watt’s #81M Maxwell Industries / Steve Watt Enterprises Maxim, Marcham qualified fifteenth overall and scored fourth in his heat race.
Jake Swanson (Anaheim, California) won the night’s 10-lap DJ Safety Heat Race #2. Piloting Tom and Laurie Sertich’s #92 Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror / Clackamas Rigging & Transfer XXX, Swanson was second quick in time trials and finished seventh in the main event. The 2012 Rookie of the Year is currently third in the point chase with three Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, two heat race victories, two Brown & Miller Racing Solutions Semi-Main wins, and twelve top-10 finishes on the season.
Ronnie Gardner (Corona, California) drove to victory in the Circle Track Performance / Keizer Aluminum Wheels Heat Race #3. Racing Robbie & Gaye Allen’s #12 ABC Body Shop / PPG Automotive Finishes Maxim, Gardner qualified eleventh overall and finished sixth in the main event. The three-time USAC Western States Midget Champion is twenty-first in the point standings with one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award and three top-10 finishes in the campaign.
Mike Spencer (Temecula, California) won the night’s 12-lap Brown & Miller Racing Solutions Semi-Main. Driving the Gansen Engineering Motorsports’ #4S Trench Shoring / King Racing Products Maxim, Spencer was sixteenth quick in time trials and scored fifteenth in the 30-lap main event. Heading to Canyon Speedway Park, the five-time champion ranks sixth in points with one heat race victory, nine top-10 finishes, and 35 feature laps led on the year.
“The Bear” Jeremy Ellertson (Lawndale, California) flipped hard in turn three during the 12-lap semi-main. Track safety crews arrived on the scene and had to cut the cage of the #98 Smith & Howard Transport / Inland Rigging Racecrafter for extraction. The veteran racer was transported to a local hospital for observation and everyone with the USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series wishes Jeremy a quick and full recovery.
**LANCE JENNINGS - USAC MEDIA
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USAC AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: September 24, 2016 – Perris, California – Perris Auto Speedway – 9th Annual “Glenn Howard Classic”
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Damion Gardner, 4, Alexander-16.304; 2. Jake Swanson, 92, Sertich-16.360; 3. Logan Williams, 5, Jory-16.516; 4. R.J. Johnson, 51, Martin-16.557; 5. Austin Williams, 2, Jory-16.608; 6. Austin Liggett, 83, Liggett-16.611; 7. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-16.637; 8. Richard Vander Weerd, 10, Vander Weerd-16.716; 9. Danny Faria Jr., 17V, Faria-16.761; 10. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-16.765; 11. Ronnie Gardner, 12, Allen-16.770; 12. Jace Vander Weerd, 88, Vander Weerd-16.806; 13. Matt Mitchell, 21AZ, Burkhart-16.818; 14. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-17.027; 15. Trey Marcham, 81M, Watt-17.027; 16. Mike Spencer, 4S, Gansen-17.081; 17. Eddie Tafoya, 51T, Tafoya-17.146; 18. Max Adams, 5M, Adams-17.193; 19. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-17.197; 20. Corey Ballard, 20, Ballard-17.273; 21. Anthony Lopiccolo, 36, Springstead-17.374; 22. Verne Sweeney, 98V, Tracy-17.384; 23. Matt Stewart, 84, Stewart-17.423; 24. Randy Waitman, 69, Waitman-17.527; 25. Andrew Sweeney, 98JR, Tracy-17.730; 26. Cal Smith, 39, Cal-Sun-17.772; 27. Kyle Edwards, 39E, Edwards-17.885; 28. Jeremy Ellertson, 98, Ellertson-19.178; 29. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-19.267.
EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. D.Gardner, 2. Mitchell, 3. Faria, 4. A.Williams, 5. Lopiccolo, 6. Bender, 7. Tafoya, 8. A.Sweeney. 2:51.28
DJ SAFETY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Swanson, 2. Malcolm, 3. Adams, 4. V.Sweeney, 5. C.Williams, 6. Liggett, 7. Smith. NT
CIRCLE TRACK PERFORMANCE / KEIZER ALUMINUM WHEELS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. R.Gardner, 2. Roa, 3. Gansen, 4. Marcham, 5. L.Williams, 6. Stewart, 7. Edwards. 2:57.58.
STAND 21 RACER GOES SAFER FOUNDATION FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Johnson, 2. R.Vander Weerd, 3. Ballard, 4. J.Vander Weerd, 5. Ellertson, 6. Waitman. 2:52.06
BROWN & MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Spencer, 2. C.Williams, 3. Liggett, 4. Lopiccolo, 5. L.Williams, 6. Stewart, 7. Edwards, 8. A.Sweeney, 9. Waitman, 10. Bender, 11. Ellertson. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Austin Williams, 2. Richard Vander Weerd, 3. R.J. Johnson, 4. Brody Roa, 5. Damion Gardner, 6. Ronnie Gardner, 7. Jake Swanson, 8. Logan Wiliams, 9. Trey Marcham, 10. Tommy Malcolm, 11. Austin Liggett, 12. Danny Faria Jr., 13. Jace Vander Weerd, 14. Matt Mitchell, 15. Mike Spencer, 16. Chris Gansen, 17. Corey Ballard, 18. Verne Sweeney, 19. Anthony Lopiccolo, 20. Max Adams, 21. Matt Stewart, 22. Cody Williams. NT
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**Ellertson flipped on lap 7 of the semi..
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-5 R.Vander Weerd, Laps 6-30 A.Williams.
BR MOTORSPORTS / KING RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Trey Marcham (15th to 6th)
NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-D.Gardner-1,080, 2-R.Vander Weerd-976, 3-Swanson-958, 4-Roa-915, 5-A.Williams-883, 6-Spencer-758, 7-Adams-688, 8-J.Vander Weerd-602, 9-L.Williams-595, 10-Ellertson & C.Williams-552.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: September 30 – Peoria, AZ – Canyon Speedway Park – 16th Annual Sands Chevrolet USAC “Hall of Fame Classic”
